A small, chunky waterbird 9–12 inches with a short neck and plump body, the Pied-billed Grebe is readily identified by its stout, pale bill marked with a broad black band in breeding plumage and its uniformly brown upper- and underparts. In non-breeding adults the bill becomes a more subdued grayish-white, and juveniles show a distinctive dark cap with contrasting pale cheeks. The legs are set far back on the body, lending a characteristic “tucked” posture at rest and propelling swift, duck-like dives.
In Arizona the species is a common winter visitor statewide, frequenting marshes, ponds, reservoirs, and slow-moving river backwaters that support emergent vegetation. Breeding is much more localized and scarce, occurring only in the wetter riparian corridors of the southeastern sky-island canyons and in some perennial marshes (e.g., along the lower Colorado River). Pairs build floating nests anchored to emergent reeds and cattails; clutches of 4–8 speckled eggs typically hatch in late spring. Their diet consists primarily of small fish and aquatic invertebrates, which they capture by diving and pursuing prey underwater. Though sensitive to wetland loss and water-level fluctuations, Pied-billed Grebes remain one of Arizona’s more widespread grebe species during the winter months.
